This article focuses on speaker output to the amplifier input, primarily for the hi-fi audio enthusiast. This is for amplifiers, integrated amplifiers, preamplifiers, etc. Speaker output is often speaker-level signals. These are the modern standard. Tools will be referenced in this article. These are excellent tools. Do yourself a favor and check them out.
Does anyone know if it’s possible to get speaker output into an amplifier (modern transistor amp) via the small (headphone) jack? I’ve got a couple of powered speakers, but need to be able to hook the iPod up with an auxiliary lead so another can use it in his car. Ideally, with this option, I want to be able to plug the auxiliary lead in with or without the speakers plugged in so I can perfect my timing when playing with the band. The iPhone headphone jack just gives out sound when there are no headphones in, not when there are.
Speakers are generally 10, 20 or 8 ohms. Amplifiers are designed to deal with specific impedance, so you should carefully choose your amplifier based on the impedance of the speakers. Most home audio amplifiers are designed to deal with 8 ohm speakers. Low impedance speakers are the easiest to use because the impedance doesn’t change too much with frequency. If you want to run high impedance speakers, then you need an amplifier that has a high output impedance, so the amplifier doesn’t load the speaker too much.
Speaker output to amplifier input
The power output of the speaker is measured in watts. The power input to the amplifier is measured in watts. You can’t connect the two of them directly. You need to find some kind of power converter to connect the two. Take the power output of the amplifier and multiply it by the efficiency of the speaker to get the power input.
The speaker output terminals on the receiver are line level, not speaker level. Thus, you need to either use a Y-connector (one each of the red/white wires for each of the left/right channels), or you can connect both wires for each channel together (red/white/red/white). The amplifier input terminals are speaker level; so you would need speakers with more than one wire (i.e. two red wires if they are 8 ohm speakers). If they are 4 ohm speakers, you would need to either wire the amplifier with the 4 ohm speaker impedance tap (which is not typically used).
You do not need to go to the music store and buy a brand new amplifier when your speakers are connected to the equipment and the tones in your speaker and equipment do not match. This is because there is a simple fix available in almost any household in which you can connect the equipment to your old amplifier so that the tones will meet correctly.
It may sound like an intimidating task, but you can perform it in just a few steps. When I got my bass guitar I tried to play it with my old speaker and amplifier and could not hear much of a difference when playing, but when I connected them to my brother’s speakers and amplifier, it sounded much clearer and was easier for me to hear every note he was hitting on his guitar.
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